The Whole World and Me

As I told you previously, Nicky (my faithfull Nikon) and I went on a road trip this past weekend.

On a very cold, but very sunny day, we were taken to a huge garden called Buddha Eden.

Among lakes and trees and huge lawns there's a million statues of buddhas, terracotta warriors, modern art statues, indian colums, chinese dragons... well, basically it's statues from all corners of the East put together not in the best manner, in my honest opinion, but the effect is there.

More than anything, the garden is peacefull and silent. You can sit by one of the lakes and just enjoy the sun, the wind, the murmur of the trees... It was almos therapeutical.

I am VERY self conscious when it comes to my photographs, but I would LOVE to hear your thoughs... Can you please comment and let me know if these are any good?... Don't be afraid to hurt my feeling, I'm a big girl! :)

Hope you like them! There were 200, I was able to do the amazing task of selecting 64, so.....

Oh... It's Friday!!! Yeah :)

If there's one thing I love and one thing I love even more to photograph is street art. I love the concept, I love to be walking down a street and discover a great graffiti, drawing or even a sentence that justs brightens my day. I'm not a fan of ruin buildings!!! I'm a fan of street art when it's conscious and well made.

That said...

Today was one of those days when I simply adore what I do! Participating in exciting new projects from scratch and watch as they unfold to the glorious day when everything is done is possibly my favorite thing in the world! Today was one of those days.

I spent something like 2 hours in one of the collest places in Lisbon. Basically, a huge coumpound which used to be an abandoned factory and is now the home of the coolest shops, restaurants and bars. Its walls are covered with street art, so in between my job and everything else, I did these little snapshots with my iPhone (no filters people!!).

Note to self: 

RETURN WITH NICKY!!!! ;)

By the way, this past weekend Nicky and I went on a road trip! Yeah!!! 200 pictures were born on a very sunny sunday! Hopefully, I will be able to post them tomorrow!

Lots of love and all that stuff!!

xx

If there is one thing life has taught me so far is that when it comes to my personal life, it's better not to make plans. Plans tend to stay as... well, plans, and so I've decided to stop making them and just make things happen!

But, there's this little exception (as always) to this resolution.

I will take one year of my life to travel the world. Yes, I WILL!!! I will do it while I'm young (ahaha!) and will not wait until I'm retired. I will go with an idea of the places I want to go, but not with a travel plan. I will make room for life to happen and for discovery to take me as far as I can reach.

Today I found my guide for this trip! 

I will try to go to all these places, some will be easier than others, but what's life without challenges, right? ;)

The 33 Most Beautiful Abandon Places in the World 

a.k.a. a photographer's wet dream (if I can have the audacity to call myself an amateur photographer!!)

It's Friday night and I am home with a glass of wine devouring the Fall-Winter issue of Self Service magazine. This is a religious moment for me, because Self Service is my fashion bible (sorry Vogue, you're more like my fashion fix!). With two issues a year and more like a book than a magazine, Self Service really fulfills all my fashion needs, while setting the cultural zeitgeist of the moment in a brilliant and intelligent way.

As with every issue, I am in love. And that love started with the great editorial written by Suzanne Koller entitled: Questions without answer that you can even ask yourself.

And so I did... and so should you!! I'm a firm believer in self questionnaires, they make you think and analyse yourself in a way we normally don't do.

So here are my answers... hope it inspires you to answer as well!

Let's take a moment and praise all the great directors and writers who make movies that MATTER! Yes, we need movies to distract ourselves, but we also need movies that are pertinent, that say something, that make us think!

I saw Thor for the first time this week. It was entertaining, with a wonderful photography. But will I write a post about it? Hummm... I don't think so! 

I rather tell you about the movie I saw yesterday: Disconnect

Another brilliant movie that shows just how we relate to each other and to ourselves and just how disconnected we can be, although so very much connected through all social networks in existence...

Brilliantly directed, beautifully written (I do love the type of movie that mixes several different stories that at one point connect) and amazingly performed.

Seriously, amazing actors and performance (Marc Jacobs included!!)

Just one more consideration... although humankind, in my opinion, is starved for connection, I belive we are, in fact, all connected. And yes, our actions have consequences, even if they are not visible to us at once. You know the saying... If a butterfly flaps its wings in Japan...

Think about it...

is in fact my own mind.

Lately I have notice how my mind is the first to put barriers up, to put forward difficulties and to make me doubt myself. In this neverending war between my heart and my head, it seems like my head has the bigger voice and honestly... I'm tired of it.

I wish I could find a way to drown my own voices and to be confident enough so I don't have to listen to every little doubt that is whispered in my mind. In the end, this is just a big testimony of how fragile and insecure I really am... It's hard for me to believe certain things and this is when my mind shows its ugliest face. 

Why is it so hard to belive that someone can like me... even love me? Why do I doubt my professional abilities? Why do other people's comments and compliments matter less to me than my own insecurities?

The problem is that I listen to them... I let these silly little warms become giant caterpillars that mine all my judgement. Suddenly, the strong woman who is brave enough to face the world straight ahead, turns into a scared little girl who just wants to give up and hide in the corner. 

This unbalance is shattering me... 

I guess we all have insecurities. What separates the strong from the weak is the way we handle them. Will you take these doubts and use them to fuel your strength? Or will you hold on to them as they are the only truth in this world? I'm afraid to answer this question out loud...

Mind games are dangerous traps... I keep falling and falling into them, even though I know, I am conscious, that I shouldn't. Deep down I know I am better and stronger than this, but there's something that keeps pulling me down... 

I feel almost stupid writing these lines, you know? But what can I say? This blog is also a way for me to exorcise certain things and writing does help.

Cold is definitely here to stay and i'm taking inspiration for my wardrobe this Fall-Winter...